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Implementing Brexit is proving to be a herculean task at home as well as abroad. But the Prime Minister might help her cause by deploying some more heroic rhetoric than she has used so far to explain what exactly the Government is trying to achieve.

Asked about her message for Tory backbenchers as she navigates treacherous parliamentary waters this week, Mrs May went into full robot mode. Her goal, she said, was “to get the best possible deal” to enable a “smooth and orderly period”, by getting a “smooth and orderly exit”.

Aside from the sphinx-like opacity of this language, it’s also about as inspiring as a “damp rag”, to paraphrase Nigel Farage’s famous phrase about the EU president. Generating...